It is a Secret known but to a few, yet of no small use in the Conduct of Life, that when you fall into a Man’s Conversation, the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater Inclination to hear you, or that you should hear him.

Richard Steele (1672-1729) Anglo-Irish writer, journalist, playwright, politician

The Spectator, #49 (26 Apr 1711)